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The Future of Aircraft: High-Speed In-Flight Connectivity

What’s the latest in aircraft technology?

Something good is happening in the aircraft industry. They are building the aircraft of tomorrow that will allow everyone in the air to stay connected all the way. The aircraft will no longer be confined to the function of taking passengers from any point to another point in the world.

Transforming Air Travel With New Technology

As explained by Honeywell, a technology and manufacturing firm that develops a variety of systems and service for the aircraft, it’s a development that will definitely transform air travel from passengers to pilots and ground staff as well.

Seamless Communication For Passengers

CNBC was informed by Honeywell that this development will provide a different experience for the passengers and the crew. For the passengers, it means seamless communication from the time they walk into an airport with their iPhone at high speed to the time they step onto the plane. Jack Jacobs of Honeywell said “it’s not that way yet today”.

More Reliable And Real Time Information For Pilots And Crew

According to Jacobs, this development will also change how the pilot and crew process and use the information they can get related to safe flying, avoiding turbulence and bad weather. This is definitely something that will help the pilot in providing as much safety as possible for the passengers.

Importance Of Aircraft Connectivity

This development on how connected an aircraft should be to air traffic control has been highlighted in the course of the investigation following the strange circumstances surrounding Flight MH370’s undetected disappearance on March 8. Experts in the aircraft industry say that while aircraft of today has some degree of connectivity, what’s lacking is providing a high speed link at a lower cost. If this were on Flight MH370, things would have been different.

With the new technology for aircraft being developed the passengers will be able to communicate with people on the ground in emergency situations or unforeseen events.

Lessons Learned Used To Upgrade Aircraft Technology

Taking lessons from such a tragic incident, Honeywell – the leader in making equipment for in-flight Wi-Fi services, says that the new technology for testing in 2015 signed with Air China, can be brought in as upgrades to existing aircraft and as part of the new planes. Results from the numerous surveys conducted by Honeywell have shown that the presence of high-speed internet access or mobile phone network appears to be a pressing need for many passengers on the plane. Of the 3000 adults in the US, Singapore and UK surveyed by the firm, half of the Britons and over one third of the Americans and Singaporeans would be more than happy to trade preferred seats for a better Internet connection.

New Technology Is Critical In Aircraft Industry

Industry experts project that the number of aircraft with passenger connectivity systems is expected to reach 4,000, a figure twice the existing number today, two years from now. Apart from ensuring the aircraft’s superiority by using high quality materials attached together with solid rivets, airline companies are more pressured than ever to respond to the technology-based demands of passengers and crew alike. The new technology Honeywell is working on, can turn an airplane into an intelligent aircraft with the amount of data created during a flight. High-speed connection will provide real-time information.

Enforcing Heightened Safety Of Aircraft Flying

But the most important benefit of a more connected aircraft is being able to relay important information back to the ground staff at any time during the flight. This could spell a big difference in an airplane’s overall safety during a flight.

Would you prefer to be offered high-speed Internet connection over preferred seats?